Saturday, December 24, 2011

"It's a pretty complex board both top and bottom, but in a nutshell it's usually got a flat front foot area and a concave deck on the back foot, with turned down rails and lots of hard edge. the bottom is a slightly vee'd nose transferring into a triplane middle with either a single or double concave depending on the fin setup for each particular board. The rocker is pretty flat through the back 2/3 of the board but has a nice lift in the nose for ultra shred capabilities." -Lovelace

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

I did a quick little interview with shaper extraordinaire, Mason Dyer recently about shaping, surfing, and what influences him.

I met Mason my Freshman year at Point Loma, and am constantly stoked on what he keeps coming up with.

1. How did you get into shaping?

I did ding repair through highschool so I already knew how to glass pretty well. After years of getting boards that weren’t even close to what I asked for from the shaper I was riding for I finally decided to try to make my own. The first few didn’t turn out to hot but as I got some practice they started getting better and better.

2. What do you enjoy most about surfing?

Surfing is just flat out fun. That’s why we all started, because it was fun, nothing else. I try to remember that when I’m sitting on a 9'6 but it feels like a 6'6'' because I have gained like 30lbs and am surfing like crap but it is still fun.

3. What kind of shapes do you enjoy working on the most?

Short stuff is super fun but I have been really into shaping Malibu chips for the last 18 months or so. Its crazy how versatile those outlines were. By tweaking the rocker, rail and fins on them they can become this missing link in logs. I’m addicted for sure. They can definitely do it all. Trim, turn, noseride etc.. and they do it well.

4. What is the hardest part about what you do?

The hardest part is for sure balancing shaping with my job at captain fin co. I work for Mitch full time over there [Capt. Fin] from 9-5 then get done and mow foam for a few hours. It gets to be pretty crazy some weeks, but I for sure get the best of both worlds.

5. How does shaping influence your daily life?

Its cool having my 2 jobs work so closely together. My shaping helps me with Captain Fin because I understand how fins work with board design. Captain Fin on the other hand has really pushed my shaping because I am constantly thinking about fins, design and how it all works together.

6. Who influences you?

There are a few doods who really do for sure. Mitch Abshere for sure. I learned most of what I know from him. Brian Bent is another who has pretty much been a mentor to me for the last 2-3 years. Lastly, Jeff McCallum. Those guys all march to the beat of their own drum and really keep their eyes on their own paper. Its refreshing knowing guys who don’t just look over everyone else's shoulder and rip of what they are doing. There is a lot of that in this industry for sure. Especially in shaping.

7. What keeps you motivated?

Progression and experimenting. I am addicted to tweaking aspects of both board design from a shaping standpoint and a glassing /artwork standpoint. A board has to work 1st but it also has to sell. For example I have probably changed the Jetson model (Malibu chip) slightly every single time I shape one. If you look at the 1st compared to the most recent they are complete opposites. I also love making stuff with my hands. It’s pretty addicting.

8. What's next for Mason Dyer?

A lot. I have some pretty rad stuff on the horizon. Some I cant tell you about just yet but it will be pretty sweet for sure.

What I can say is I am definitely going to keep designing fins and staying involved over at Captain. I am so stoked and thankful to be a part of that program. We have some insane fins coming out this spring featuring the best surfers, shapers and artist out there.

I will also continue to keep expanding my shaping business. I have some super solid shops and distributors set up that are really pushing things and taking it to the next level. I also have some rad stuff in the works that should be out by summer ‘12 so keep your eyes open for that too.

More than anything I am just stoked and thankful to be able to do what I truly love doing and make a living doing it.

Check out more great stuff that Mason’s got going on over at: The Dyer Brand